Friday, April 08, 2011

Frankie here. Sorry I’m late posting. I spent last evening gathering up my scattered receipts and preparing myself for my yearly date with my tax preparer (a lovely woman named Helen who has been doing my taxes for twenty years and works for the company with the letters in its name). What I dread about tax preparation day is seeing how little I make from writing compared to how much I invest (in time, travel, and actual dollars).

Don’t get me wrong. I love writing and would, have and probably will again, write when no one pays me a cent. However, the fact that this tax season coincides with the upcoming publication of my fifth mystery reminded me about my marketing dilemma. Like many writers, I am an introvert – much less so than when I was a child because I spend my days in a classroom and I have had to go out and meet people as a writer. And, in truth, there is another part of me that is a bit of a ham.

But I do have a day job, and serious-minded criminal justice professors have to remember that they don’t want to end up as a viral YouTube video for an ill-considered marketing stunt. On the other hand (do I have three hands now?), I study popular culture, love commercials, and am fascinated by the concept of marketing. I’ve read a few books about branding and thought a bit about my “brand.” As the author of one of my favorite books on the subject points out, if you don’t define yourself, other people will do it for you. I’ve tried to make sure this didn’t happen in my academic career, where I might have been pigeonholed. So why not give the same attention to my career as a mystery writer.

Yes, I know some gurus have moved onto other post-branding discussions in the world of marketing. But what I like about branding is the idea that a brand that works is one that is based on the core values of the company or the individual. Successful individual brands are authentic.

The advice from consultants on branding is to begin by thinking about what you’re passionate about. What turns you on? What do you love doing? The answer for a writer is obviously that we love writing. The question is what we each love about writing – and the answer to that question is more complex.

For example, I love writing for the same reasons that I love playing with colors, whether I’m decorating a room or deciding what to wear in the morning. I love writing for the same reasons that I loved playing dressed up as a kid, would love to be transported back in time and attend a ball at Almack’s, and hope one day to be a volunteer at a historic site where everyone wears period dress. I love writing because it allows me to use my imagination, be playful, and be creative. You will notice that the word “play” keeps appears. But I also love writing because when I’m writing, I can connect the dots.

Figuring this out did not help me develop a clear sense of my brand. But I’ve been thinking about my brand – about that “tag line” about who I am and what I do. Thinking about it for a couple of years.

Last night, I stumbled on what I do as teacher, researcher, and writer. The answer came to me as I was doodling, jotting down words, as I thought about my brand. What occurred to me was that I’ve been trying for months to find a way to explain in 25 words or less why a criminologist is doing research on my new passions (that evolved over a period of years) -- clothing and food.

Last night I had my breakthrough. I realized that the word I was looking for was “discourse.” That word is the key to my brand – as criminologist or mystery writer. I know it’s a concept that I’m going to have to turn into user friendly language – my tagline for the elevator. But I think I’ve finally got it.

So I am going to argue here that writers should explore the concept of “brand” as an opportunity. An opportunity to think about what you do, why you do it, and how you want to present yourself to the world.

And in tax season, it is a diverting exercise that will distract you from the pain of cash-out versus cash-in.

Rick Blechta writes on Tuesdays

Barbara Fradkin writes on alternate Wednesdays

Sybil Johnson writes on Alternate Wednesdays

John Corrigan writes on alternate Thursdays

Donis Casey writes on alternate Thursdays

Charlotte Hinger writes on alternate Fridays

Frankie Bailey writes on Alternate Fridays

Vicki Delany writes on the second weekend of every month

Mario Acevedo writes on the 4th Saturday of each month

Aline Templeton

Aline Templeton lives in Edinburgh in a house with a balcony overlooking the beautiful city skyline. Her series featuring DI Marjory Fleming is set in beautiful Galloway, in South-west Scotland. alinetempleton.co.uk

Marianne Wheelaghan

Marianne is from Edinburgh. She left home at seventeen. After a heap of travelling, which included living in Kiribati, the third most remote country in the world, she ended back in Edinburgh where she still lives very happily. Her crime mysteries feature DS Louisa Townsend, The Scottish Lady Detective, and are mostly set in the Pacific. Read more about Marianne and her books on her blog: www.mariannewheelaghan.co.uk and at @MWheelaghan

Rick Blechta

Rick has two passions in life, mysteries and music, and his thrillers contain liberal doses of both. He has two upcoming releases, Roses for a Diva, his sequel to The Fallen One, for Dundurn Press, and for Orca’s Rapid Reads series, The Boom Room, a second book featuring detectives Pratt & Ellis. You can learn more about what he’s up to at www.rickblechta.com. From the musical side, Rick leads a classic soul band in Toronto. Check out SOULidifiedband.com. And lastly, being a former line cook with an interest in all things culinary, he has a blog dedicated to food: A Man for All Seasonings.

Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin is a retired psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. Her dark short stories haunt the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, but she is best known for her award-winning series featuring the quixotic, exasperating Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, published by Dundurn Press. The ninth book, The Whisper of Legends, was published in April 2013. Visit Barbara at barbarafradkin.com.

Sybil Johnson

Sybil Johnson’s love affair with reading began in kindergarten with “The Three Little Pigs.” Visits to the library introduced her to Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a host of other characters. Fast forward to college where she continued reading while studying Computer Science. After a rewarding career in the computer industry, Sybil decided to try her hand at writing mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mysterical-E and Spinetingler Magazine, among others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Southern California where she enjoys tole painting, studying ancient languages and spending time with friends and family. Find her at www.authorsybiljohnson.com.

John R Corrigan

John R. Corrigan is D.A. Keeley, author of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Peyton Cote series, which is set along the Maine-Canada border. Bitter Crossing (summer 2014) will be the first of at least three novels in the series. Born in Augusta, Maine, he lives with his wife and three daughters at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts, where he is English department chair, a teacher, a hockey coach, and may very well be the only mystery writer in North America who also serves as a dorm parent to 50 teenage girls. A Mainer through and through, he tries to get to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, as often as possible. You can see what he's up to by visiting www.amazon.com/author/DAKeeley or dakeeleyauthor.blogspot.com or on Twitter (@DAKeeleyAuthor).

Donis Casey

Donis is the author of six Alafair Tucker Mysteries. Her award-winning series, featuring the sleuthing mother of ten children, is set in Oklahoma during the booming 1910s. Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband, poet Donald Koozer. The latest Alafair Tucker novel, The Wrong Hill to Die On (Poisoned Pen Press, 2012), is available in paper or electronic format wherever books are sold. Readers can enjoy the first chapter of each book on her web site at www.doniscasey.com.

Frankie Bailey

Frankie Y. Bailey is a criminal justice professor who focuses on crime, history, and American culture. Her current project is a book about dress, appearance, and criminal justice. Her mystery series featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart is set mainly in the South. Her near-future police procedural series featuring Detective Hannah McCabe is set in Albany, New York. Visit Frankie at frankieybailey.com.

Charlotte Hinger

Charlotte Hinger is a novelist and Western Kansas historian. Convinced that mystery writing and historical investigation go hand in hand, she now applies her MA in history to academic articles and her depraved imagination to the Lottie Albright series for Poisoned Pen Press. charlottehinger.com

Vicki Delany/Eva Gates

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of more than 25 books, including the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas cozy series, the Constable Molly Smith books, standalone novels of suspense, the Klondike Gold Rush series, and novellas for adult literacy. As Eva Gates, she is the author of the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin. Find Vicki at www.vickidelany.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor/

Mario Acevedo

Mario Acevedo is the author of the Felix Gomez detective-vampire series. His short fiction is included in the anthologies, You Don’t Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens and Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery, and in Modern Drunkard Magazine. Mario lives with a dog in Denver, CO. His website is marioacevedo.com.